did you get my message?
by mazberrypie
Summary: "She hobbled up to her loft, grabbing her phone and blindly scrolling through her contacts to send a text to Alya. They hadn't talked all day and her best friend probably thought that she was dead. Marinette, of course, had to confirm that." In which Marinette doesn't do a very good job of checking who she is texting.
1. the one i sent

With a long groan, Marinette stumbled up the stairs and across the room, collapsing on her chaise. Tikki flew out from her purse as soon as the trapdoor had shut, fluttering around her head and fretting.

"Marinette! You shouldn't push yourself so hard!" Tikki brushed the bangs from her forehead, resting a little hand on her brow.

"I know, I know, I just need to get everything done before the deadline." Marinette sighed, stretching out her aching legs.

Marinette had signed up for a small fashion competition in the area, just a simple thing where she needed to submit a few outfits and would compete against other local designers. She'd signed up nearly a month ago, and after doing some intense work at the start, forgot all about it until a week before the outfits were due. Of course she had everything planned out, as soon as she'd seen the flier for the event Marinette had started working on design and had the mini-line finalized before she even walked in the doors of the offices where sign-up was held. Now it was just a matter of getting everything cut and sewn before the deadline passed.

Which, considering Marinette's designs were fairly ambitious, was challenging.

She'd had to run all over Paris to find the right supplies, and dug into her rather meager spending money to buy everything. After a day of bartering and testing fabrics, as well as planning out some last minute adjustments, Marinette was exhausted, but still had a lot to do in the next few days.

"Alright," Marinette stood, approaching her dress form, "I just need to pick up that last order tomorrow and finish up the ruffles tonight..."

"Don't burn yourself out!" Tikki warned. "You never know when another akuma will show up and you need to be able to fight."

With a huff and a distracted nod, Marinette continued fidgeting with the fabric while Tikki sighed and took her place at the girl's shoulder. She knew well enough by now that when Marinette had her mind set on something, it was difficult to dissuade her.

After another several hours of work and countless needle pricks later, Marinette's mother came up and sternly sent her daughter to bed.

"You can finish it in the morning, dear." Sabrine insisted, pulling the hem from Marinette's hands and carefully marking her place with a pin.

"But Mamaannn..."

"Bed, Marinette, you need your rest."

Tikki couldn't help but agree as Sabrine left, even tugging Marinette to the dresser to grab her pajamas and get ready for bed.

Marinette drifted through her nighttime routine, relying on Tikki to guide her to the bathroom and laundry hamper to discard her comfortable work clothes. She hobbled up to her loft, grabbing her phone and blindly scrolling through her contacts to send a text to Alya. They hadn't talked all day and her best friend probably thought that she was dead.

Marinette, of course, had to confirm that.

M: i think im gonna dieeeee

Marinette dropped her phone on her stomach, rolling over when it buzzed to read Alya's response.

A: What's going on?

M: just this design thing, its killing me. ive been working for 48 hours straight.

After a brief pause, Alya's response popped up.

A: Design thing? Is that the one we talked about at that restaurant?

M: maybe? i dont remember talking it about it then...

A: I definitely remember you bringing it up!

Marinette had been sure her and Alya had discussed it earlier than that, but maybe she was wrong?

M: ive been so out of it i must have forgotten lmao

A: You have seem a little zoned out lately.

M: um excuse me, r u calling me spacey?

A: No! No, of course not. I didn't mean to offend...

Marinette laughed out loud, surprised by Alya's response. She was usually so quick to jump on an opportunity to poke fun, it was odd for her to take Marinette's jibe seriously.

M: im teasing ya goob, its okay :P

A: Goob?

M: do u prefer goober?

A: Nope, goob is fine :'D

"Marinette..." Tikki chided, peeking up from the other side of her phone.

"Don't worry, I'll wrap it up in a sec." Marinette shooed off the kwami, flipping to her other side.

Marinette continued texting with Alya, a little confused by some of her responses. Marinette would bring up things they'd talked about and Alya wouldn't remember it, though she chalked it up to them both being tired. And it just meant she could tell Alya stories all over again, eliciting interesting reactions. Marinette had just finished retelling the tale of how she'd had to nab Chloe's cell phone on picture day when she remembered a comic she'd seen that she'd wanted to share.

M: wait i just remembered i found something that made me think of us

A:...'us'?

M: yeah one sec

Marinette sorted through her history until she found the comic and pasted the link into the chat. She waited for Alya to read it, anticipating her response, when the bubble popped up.

A: That's cute! Which one am I?

M: i think im the rabbit cause ~pigtails~

A: Obviously

M: and youre the bear cause...youre taller? and you work so hard. i just feel like thats something we'd do, y'know?

A: Yeah... maybe one day.

Marinette stared at her phone, trying to figure out her friend's response when another text popped up.

A: Sorry Marinette, but I have a photo shoot early in the morning so I need to head to bed. But it was nice talking with you!

M: Photo shoot?

A: Yeah, my dad's summer line is coming out soon and he wants the pictures ready for the press release. Hope your designs turn out alright, though I'm sure they will cause they're yours :) good night!

M: night...

"Dad's summer line, what the hell?" Marinette sat up, trying think what Alya could possibly be talking about.

She scrolled up through her messages, rereading some, then toggling back to the main text app screen before letting out a screech and dropping her phone on the bed.

"OH MY GOD!"

"Marinette! Are you alright?" Tikki flew up, looking into her eyes worriedly.

She was obviously panicking, her face red and eyes wide as she pointed at her phone. "I was texting him!"

The kwami blinked in confusion, looking down at the device. "Who?"

"Adrien!"

* * *

The next day at school, Marinette was hiding waiting in the girl's bathroom for the bell to ring. She'd already splashed her face with cold water (twice) and now was staring in the mirror, trying to gather up the courage to face the day.

To face Adrien.

"You can do it Marinette! I'm sure he isn't mad, he sounded happy to talk with you!" Tikki tried to reassure her, to little avail.

"Maybe I can say it was a joke? Or that someone stole my phone and texted him? Or! I could say that I was so deliriously tired that I accidently started texting him and hit my head the next day and now I have amnesia so I can't remember it!"

"Or you could tell him the truth?" A sudden voice came from the doorway, and Tikki hurried to hide while Marinette jumped in surprise.

"Alya! What's up?" She attempted to recover and lean naturally against the sinks, only succeeding in slipping a little and getting her shirt wet.

"Other than my best friend acting weird and talking to herself in the bathroom?" Alya rose an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. "Adrien's looking for you."

"He is?!" Marinette all but screeched.

"Wow, can you be a little louder? I don't think they heard you in Australia." Walking up to Marinette, Alya dropped her hands on the girl's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Marinette, what's going on?"

Marinette sighed, slumping and looking down at her shoes. "I was up late working on the designs for the competition last night and when I went to bed I tried to text you but I was actually texting Adrien."

"So...?"

"So! We talked for like, two hours! And I called him a goob." Marinette pouted, looking back up at Alya.

"Is that all?" Alya prompted, smiling slightly.

"It's a big deal!"

"No, it's not." Alya took a step back and laughed, straightening Marinette's shirt for her. "You spent hours talking to your crush and were able to actually relax. That doesn't sound that bad."

"I. Called. Him. A. Goob!" Marinette punctuated each word with a slap to her cheeks..

Alya chuckled again and made for the door. "And now he's looking for you cause he wants to show you something."

Marinette paused, glancing over to where Alya held open the door.

"Adrien wants to show me something?" Her voice was tiny.

"Yeah, so get a move on!" Alya motioned to the door and stepped out herself.

"O-okay."

Marinette trailed hesitantly behind Alya, following her step for step to the classroom. Almost everyone else was already there, sitting in the seats and waiting for Mme Bustier to arrive.

Adrien glanced up from his phone when Alya and Marinette entered, his whole face lighting up when he caught sight of them. He hopped up off his bench and lopped across the room, his toothy smile absolutely devastating. Marinette was amazed that she didn't pass out from the sheer force of it as Adrien came to a stop before them.

"Alya found you!" He beamed and Marinette couldn't quite catch her breath.

"Y-yeah!" Marinette shifted awkwardly, trying to fight off the urge to melt into the ground. "She said you had something t-to show me?"

"Yeah!" Adrien nodded eagerly, pulling up something on his phone before turning it to face her. "I found some more comics by that artist! They're really cute, and there's some good animal puns."

"Animal puns, huh?" Marinette made a pinched face, her mind going to a certain animal themed friend of hers, but read through some of the comics. "Okay that one's pretty funny."

"Which one?" Adrien moved to her side, leaning over her shoulder so they could both see the phone.

"This one here, the T-Rex one." Marinette pointed, glancing up before realizing how close they were and turning bright red.

Adrien was up against her side, and she could feel his laughter vibrating through her back as he chuckled.

"I liked this one," He scrolled back up, seemingly unaware of Marinette's crisis, "'I got a puppet!' It's just so goofy."

"U-um yea-ah." Marinette stuttered, looking at the phone. "Uh, Adrien?"

"Yes?" Adrien blinked down at her, expression curious. He turned red when he realized they were basically nose to nose. "O-oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to get into your space like that."

"No, it's not that!" Marinette was quick to assure him. "It's just..."

It would have been the perfect chance to tell one of her stories she'd come up with, or even the truth. But as he looked down at her, his face slightly red but still smiling and so happy, she couldn't make herself do it.

"Um, I'm just glad that we could text, uh, talk?" Marinette fumbled for the right words. "But, uh, yeah. Oh and that I shared the comic with you. Yeah."

Adrien's smile turned exponentially brighter. "Me too! I really like talking to you, Marinette."

He dropped an arm over her shoulder and gave her a quick, slightly awkward, side hug. Something about the combination of his smile, her name, and his hug was too much for Marinette, and she squeaked in surprise.

"UH! Okay! I'm going to sit down now! For class!" Her voice was pitchy as she managed to give Adrien friendly, if slightly harder than intended, pat on the back. "Good talk!"

Adrien laughed once again, detaching himself from her and pulling back his phone. His eyes crinkled around the edges as he nodded.

"Yeah, good talk."

Marinette made her way to her seat, face burning and avoiding the eyes of nearly everyone in the classroom. Alya have her a thumbs up and a consoling back once she sat and Marinette buried her face in her hands.

When Mme Bustier finally came in, Marinette was able to focus her attention elsewhere. Mid lesson, her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out with a frown. Anyone who would be texting her was already in her classroom, and her parents rarely texted during the school day.

It was a message from Adrien, and attached to it was another one of those comics, this time another one of the bunny and bear ones.

A: It's us!

Marinette giggled quietly, glancing up to see Adrien peeking up at her, phone held loosely in his hand under the table. He gave her a little wink before turning back around to pay attention to class.

Marinette screenshotted the pic and gave a dreamy little sigh, tucking it into her bag. Beside her, Alya sighed and shook her head.

"You two are absolutely hopeless."

 **AN: All the comics come from , they're some of my faves. The bear and bunny especially.**

 **Also, there's a second chapter that I should be posting soon, same events but from Adrien's perspective!**

 **I realized that I could work this into my Give The Boy a Hug 2k16 series about halfway through, and went back adn changed some stuff around so it would fit. The awkward side hug counts, right?**

 **And finally, fic title is from Jason Mraz's song by the same name :P**


	2. uh oh, where did it go?

_Marinette: i think im gonna dieeeee_

Adrien stared down at his phone, having a difficult time processing the message.

Marinette was _texting_ him? Marinette never texted him, unless she was asking about an assignment or something. And it was so informal too, she generally used perfect grammar when texting; capitals, punctuation, the works. And why was she going to die?

Hurriedly, Adrien picked up his phone, turning his desk chair away from the computer monitor as he typed out a text.

 _A: What's going on?_

Adrien frowned while he waited for an answer, his heart thudding a little uncomfortably in his chest. This reaction to Marinette, while going on a month old, was no less strong or confusing.

 _M: just this design thing, its killing me. ive been working for 48 hours straight._

Huffing out a laugh, Adrien relaxed. So she was being dramatic, okay. He could handle that.

(He probably could have handled a real emergency too, but this was much less stressful. And she wasn't in danger this time, which was always a plus.)

The term "design thing" rang some bells, and Adrien leaned over in his chair, racking his brain for what she was alluding to.

"Oh! Right." Adrien slapped his forehead, responding once more. "From the restaurant."

 _M: maybe? i dont remember talking it about it then..._

 _A: I definitely remember you bringing it up!_

Adrien had had a hard time _forgetting_ about that interaction with Marinette, everything that had happened that day glued to his mind. Learning that Marienette actually liked him (as Adrien and Chat) and considered him a friend was mind blowing, as where...other revelations that happened.

 _M: ive been so out of it i must have forgotten to lmao_

He considered the last week or so, thinking back on Marinette's behaviour. She had been a little more absent minded than usual, and often late to class, toting around coffee and deep bags under her eyes. Was it the competition that caused her to be so tired?

 _A: You have seem a little zoned out lately._

"What are you doing?" Plagg had finally noticed what was going on, floating over to read the texts. "Oooh, texting your girlfriend?"

"We've talked about this before, Marinette is just a friend." Adrien insisted, though he couldn't help be feel it was a little weaker than the last time he'd said so.

" _Riiiight_." Plagg snickered, settling on Adrien's shoulder. "Well, better say something fast Lover Boy, looks like you offended her."

"What?" Adrien glanced back down to see Marinette's text.

 _M: um excuse me, r u calling me spacey?_

"Crap, crap, crap." Adrien panicked, chastising himself for having been too blunt. It must have come across as rude over text.

He was quick to respond, apologizing profusely for seeming impolite.

 _M: im teasing ya goob, its okay :P_

Adrien paused, blinking down at his phone. "Goob?"

 _M: do u prefer goober?_

He laughed out loud, shaking his head a bit.

 _A: Nope, goob is fine :'D_

 _M: thats what i thought, goob is a perfectly acceptable nickname_

 _A: I don't know, seems a little...condescending?_

 _M: *gasp* r u suggesting that my term of endearment is an insult? how dare_

Adrien chuckled again, spinning around in his chair. Plagg was thrown off, grumbling to himself as he flew towards the bed and burrowed into the pillows. Adrien didn't pay him any mind, too focused on his conversation.

This sassy, teasing side of Marinette was so fun to talk to, and bantering back and forth felt as natural as breathing. He really needed to start texting her more often, it seemed whatever barriers they had when interacting in person completely dropped over phone. She was able to poke fun at him, and he in turn felt safe being a little goofier than he generally let himself act. Before he knew it, hours had passed and Adrien's cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing.

 _M: wait i just remembered i found something that made me think of us_

Stopping mid text, Adrien found himself confused and a bit ...hopeful. What exactly did Marinette mean by 'us'?

 _A:...'us'?_

 _M: yeah one sec_

Her response was unfortunately vague, and Adrien was left waiting for whatever the "something" she'd found was.

A beat later, a link popped up in the chat, and Adrien followed it to a blog. There was a comic of a bunny and a bear there, the rabbit having prepared a "healthy dinner" for them both, only to reveal the real meal was some pizza when the bear said it had a terrible day. It was cute, style-wise and the little story it told, and it looked like the blog had a lot more. Adrien smiled as he went back into the text.

 _A: That's cute! Which one am I?_

 _M: i think im the rabbit cause ~pigtails~_

Adrien snorted, and agreed.

 _A: Obviously_

 _M: and youre the bear cause...youre taller? and you work so hard. i just feel like thats something we'd do, y'know?_

Once again, Adrien found himself at a loss. Firstly, the fact that she cared about the work he put into modeling and school and all the other stuff he was signed up for (but didn't necessarily wanted to do) was a bit shocking. She had mentioned thinking that him being able to keep up with everything was amazing back at the restaurant, right? And that was without her knowing about the whole, 'hero of Paris aspect'.

But the line, "something we'd do", was what stuck out the most to Adrien. Was she implying that they'd be in a situation some day where he'd be coming home to her having made them food? Like friends or like...partners?

Adrien couldn't help but wish it was the later, which made the guilty feeling he got whenever he thought about Marinette in that capacity rise up in his chest. She was his friend and had made it fairly clear that's all she saw him as. Besides, he had Ladybug, even if she didn't really seem to take his advances as Chat very seriously. He wasn't supposed be thinking about someone else and yet-

 _A: Yeah... maybe one day._

Glancing up at the clock, Adrien was amazed to find how much time had gone by. It was nearly one in the morning.

 _A: Sorry Marinette, but I have a photo shoot in the early in the morning so I need to head to bed. But it was nice talking with you!_

 _M: Photo shoot?_

 _A: Yeah, my dad's summer line is coming out soon and he wants the pictures ready for the press release. Hope your design turns out alright, though I'm sure it will cause it's yours :) good night!_

(Adrien felt a little jittery adding in that last smiley face, but Marinette's response didn't seem clue him into much of anything.)

 _M: night..._

Stretching out of his chair, his legs now half asleep, Adrien stumbled to the bathroom to get ready. He flopped into bed a bit later, knowing he was probably going to get a lecture from Nathalie for looking so tired (and his father, if he was unlucky, which considering his title...). But it was worth it, because he got to talk with a friend.

With that in mind, Adrien fell asleep with a smile.

* * *

Despite the tedious photoshoot early the next morning, Adrien still made to school a little ahead of time with a wide smile. He had read some more of those comics while sitting at the makeup station, they were able to keep him entertained while people bustled around his head with brushes and product. A couple of the more regular crew members teased him for grinning at his phone all morning, and luckily neither Nathalie nor his father caught sight of him being distracted. He had a few comics already planned to show Marinette, some that he thought she'd enjoy.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a good morning.

That was, until he couldn't find Marinette anywhere around the school. It wasn't unusual for her to be late, but he had expected to find her hanging out with Alya. When he arrived in the classroom, Alya was in her seat looking at her phone, but Marinette was nowhere in sight.

"Uh, Alya?" He called, making his way across to her desk.

"Hm?" She glanced up from her phone, looking a little out of it. "Oh, hey Adrien. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you knew where Marinette was? I have something to show her."

Alya visibly paused, blinking and lowering her phone onto the desk in front of her. "...I haven't seen her yet this morning."

"Oh." Adrien tried not to let too much of the disappointment into his voice. "Okay."

It was silent between them as Adrien took his seat, dropping his bag (and Plagg) on the floor next to him. He traced the grain in the wood of the desk for a bit, feeling perturbed that his morning wasn't going quite as planned. He'd just wanted to show Marinette some more of those comics, but he probably wouldn't have enough time before class started.

"Oh my god Adrien, stop looking so put out." Alya said suddenly, laughing as she stood. "I'll go find her for you, okay?"

Adrien's head whipped up, fast enough that his neck smarted a little, and he gave a grimace of a smile to Alya. "Really?"

" _Yes_ really, ya nerd," Alya waved a hand and left the classroom, muttering under her breath, "they're hopeless."

Practically vibrating in his seat, Adrien started flipping through some of the comics on his phone. He barely greeted Nino when he arrived, reaching one hand out for a fist bump and keeping his eyes on his screen. If Nino was put off by his distraction, he didn't say anything, used to Adrien being preoccupied on days of shoots.

(For once, it wasn't the photo shoot that was his mind.)

He was so engrossed in his phone that he didn't even realize Alya had returned until he heard the door squeaking shut, glancing up only to pause, because there was Marinette, looking a little red and straight at him. Adrien beamed and scrambled out of his seat, approaching her with a big smile.

"Alya found you!"

"Y-yeah!" Marinette exclaimed, looking even redder. "She said you had something t-to show me?"

With a hurried nod, Adrien pulled up his phone and started flipping back through the blog. "Yeah! I found some more comics by that artist! They're really cute, and there's some good animal puns."

"Animal puns, huh?" Marinette's nose did the most adorable little scrunchy thing as she focused on the comic Adrien presented her, her brow relaxing as she read. "Okay, that one's pretty funny."

"Which one?"

Adrien wasn't really thinking, he just wanted to be closer and see what she was looking at. Nino had told him a couple of times that he tended to get clingy when he wasn't paying attention (as an affectionate jib and not a criticism, because Nino really didn't care), but that was far from his mind as he practically curled around Marinette.

Marinette pointed out a T-Rex comic and Adrien laughed before flipping down some, "I like this one. I got a puppet! It's just so silly."

"U-um yea-ah. Uh, Adrien?"

"Yes?"

Marinette's voice sounded strangely strained and when he looked down at her, he discovered why. He was wrapped around her side, their noses almost brushing. Her face was still red, but her eyes were as bright as ever, blinking up at him in embarrassment. Adrien felt his own face go hot at their proximity and immediately pulled back slightly.

"O-oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to get into your space like that." He resisted the urge to scratch at his neck, neither of his hands were really available.

"No, it's not that!" Marinette flapped her arms. "It's just..."

She seemed to deliberate, trying to think of what to say. Adrien was patient, he was used to letting her sort out her thoughts before speaking. He knew that she had a hard time talking to him still, and whenever she did manage to figure out her next sentence, it was always worth the wait to get a look in her head.

Adrien blinked at his own thoughts. _God, I'm hopeless_.

"Um, I'm just glad that we could text, uh, talk? But, uh, yeah." She paused, thinking. "Oh and that I shared the comic with you. Yeah."

His grin was unprecedented when she finished, beaming down at his friend. "Me too! I really like talking to you, Marinette."

Once again, he found his arms moving without his permission as he reached out and gave her a side squeeze-thing. (Did it count as a hug? The only people he had been hugged by recently were Chloe and Marinette, though the later were significantly more enjoyable.)

Apparently it was a surprise to her, because she stiffened and squeaked in shock. Adrien let go as soon as she seemed uncomfortable, knowing he'd likely pushed the barriers of Marinette's tolerance for Adrien Interactions.

(He kept having to remind himself that they _were_ friends, and she _did_ like him, she just was...intimidated, maybe?)

"UH! Okay! I'm going to sit down now! For class!" Marinette slapped his arm, and _holy crap_ did that girl have some strength hidden in her because the place she hit stung. "Good talk!"

Feeling a little bit like an employee being dismissed by an awkward boss (or maybe like himself after trying to wade through a conversation with his father...) Adrien chuckled and nodded.. "Yeah, good talk."

Marinette went to her seat and Adrien followed close behind, settling down in his bench. He waved off the odd look Nino was giving him, mouthing a 'later' as Mme Bustier walked in.

Part of the way through the lesson, Adrien glanced at his phone. _Shoot_ , there was a comic in particular he'd wanted to share, and he'd forgot to while he had Marinette right there. He copied the link into the texting app, adding a little message as he his his phone in his lap.

 _A: It's us!_

Adrien peeked up at Marinette, having heard her phone vibrate and waited for her reaction. Her face went through a myriad of expressions as he watched, before she peeked up at him and giggled. He grinned with a wink and turned back around.

Alya was muttering something again as he looked down at his phone, staring at Marinette's name in his contacts. It was a little bland on its own...

He pulled up the emoticon keyboard, thumbing through until he'd found the sparkle emoji. Adding that, another symbol caught his eye. Adrien clicked it with a grin and saved.

Next to Marinette's name were sparkles and a little pink umbrella.

 **AN:**

 **Nino: so wat hppnd**

 **Adrien: Marinette texted me! (=^*ω*^=)**

 **Nino: *found out from alya what really happened* that's gr8 man...**

 **I've found that I tend to use a lot of parenthesis when writing from Adrien's perspective, it's just kinda how I see his brain working? Let me know what you think about that, if it's annoying or if it make sense!**

 **And that's all folks! I'm glad y'all seemed to have liked this little two-shot, it was super relaxing to write.**


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